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Yassir Kazar is not what is commonly known as a «geek». This 30-year-old French-Moroccan is indeed a computer enthusiast, but he sees beyond the end of his screen. Co-founder of Yogosha, a company created in 2015 and specialized in bug bounty, Yassir Kazar, 36, became interested in computer science and its mysteries from an early age. When he turned 11, his parents and teachers helped him get his first computer.
«I was a hacker. I discovered the world of hacking and coding very early. I loved it!», the entrepreneur told Yabiladi. His passion for IT is combined with his passion for entrepreneurship. During his university studies at the Faculty of Science and Technology in Mohammedia and at the École des Hautes Etudes en Gestion, Informatique et Communication in Casablanca, he learned about the classes that were likely to correspond to his aspirations.
He then discovered the MIAGE - IT method applied to management, taught at the University of Paris Descartes. «I recognized myself in this diploma», he recalled. He therefore arrived in the French capital in 2005, at the age of 22, to follow this combined honors degree in IT and business management.
The entrepreneurship virus
During the first year of his studies in France, he co-founded Recrutinnov, a start-up whereby he became the technical director and he managed the company during his three years of study. «I had managed to convince my training director at the time to be able to work in this company alongside school. I spent two days a week in my company and the remaining three days in class. It was the debut of my professional career», he said.
Struggling to get his business off the ground, he forced himself to turn the page on this first entrepreneurial adventure. At the end of his studies, he landed a job within Canadian company CGI.inc, specializing in information technology consulting services, which in 2012 bought Logica, a company specializing in consulting, systems integration and outsourcing.
Teaching in business and engineering schools in France, he also participated to the launching of the Moroccan branch of the Open Knowledge Foundation for open data, as well as the launching of the Moroccan branch of OuiShare, a think tank specializing in collaborative economy.
«I spent seven fairly intense years doing this. I was in charge of a dozen engineers and I worked a lot on business intelligence, analytics and data warehousing. I touched on many things, I was involved in everything. After seven years, the entrepreneurial virus had taken over», he said.
Morocco, a promising market
Yassir Kazar then decided to create his second company, Defensive Lab, through which he marketed penetration tests, «classic services in the world of cybersecurity». It is during this activity that the idea of Yogosha took root. «I decided to devote 4,000 % to this project because I believed in it. I ended the Defensive Lab adventure and refocused on Yogosha».
His company aims to spot security holes in corporate IT systems. The start-up collaborates with a private community of 500 ethical hackers, capable of countering cyber attacks, on websites as well as mobile applications, APIs and infrastructure. «Our company is mainly aimed at large accounts or mid-caps (mid-size companies, editor's note). We work with software solution publishers, e-retailers and insurance banks, who have online services that could be vulnerable to cyber attacks», said Yassir Kazar.
Its customers include large companies, such as Bouygues Telecom, BNP Paribas, Cdiscount, Galeries Lafayette and L’Oréal. The challenge of the year 2020 is to bet on the Moroccan market, as Yassir Kazar is convinced of its cybersecurity potential: «Partnerships are emerging; we recently signed with our first Moroccan customers. Morocco is a hub for Africa, notably because of the links it has been able to forge with other countries. It’s a strategic country for us this year».
A sign that Yassir Kazar is big for Yogosha: the company recently raised 2 million euros from OneRagtime, BNP Paribas Développement and its historic investors Axeleo Capital, Starquest Capital and ZTP. This lifting should allow the start-up to extend its offer to new markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The future is therefore bright for this Young entrepreneur.
